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reformat, install windows xp, on a laptop

BTPH

Posted 20 February 2006 - 09:36 PM

BTPH

Member

Member

167 posts

this is pretty weird with my laptop,

when i turn it on, i dont see the normal start up screen id normally see on my pc, the first screen that asks you to push DEL if you want to change your settings, followed by the screen that checks your cdroms and asks to psuh any key to boot from cd, those 2 screens never appear on my laptop for some odd reason,

i need to format the laptop and reinstall windows, so far all ive tried is opening up the windows cd and running install from within winfowd itself, only problem is that option doesnt allow me to reformat my hard drive,

im not sure if its like this with all laptops or if mines just screwed up, could someone tell me if there is a way to enable those screens or to format the hard drive and install windows another way?

also, my laptopt only has a cdrom drive and no floppy drive so a boot disc is not going to work here, ive tried pushing f8 at start up and selected "Enable Boot Logging" but this did nothing for me

BTPH

Posted 20 February 2006 - 10:58 PM

BTPH

Member

Topic Starter

Member

167 posts

dont worry its my dads company cd, corporate edition and theve allowed him to install it on upto 6 diff computers, 4 in the house (including the laptop), 1 in his office, we can still use one more, so thats no prob

and also, no floppy on the laptop, there is a usb floppy but the computer doesnt support booting from subs, also i dont quite know where the floppy drive is, when i got my usb stick, i figured there was no need for the floppy drive and i put it somewhere, now i got no clue where it s.....

wannabe1

Posted 20 February 2006 - 11:10 PM

The Skeptic

Posted 20 February 2006 - 11:16 PM

The Skeptic

Trusted Tech

Technician

4,075 posts

I understand that except for these missing screens the POST test indicates no problems and windows loads up. If so, enter BIOS and check in one of the menus if quick setup is operating (or something of this nature). If yes choose another option. It might be that the bios is set for quick setup, shortcutting some screens. Also, make sure that boot sequence starts with cdrom and after it the hard drive.

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wannabe1

Posted 20 February 2006 - 11:20 PM

BTPH

Posted 20 February 2006 - 11:20 PM

BTPH

Member

Topic Starter

Member

167 posts

I understand that except for these missing screens the POST test indicates no problems and windows loads up. If so, enter BIOS and check in one of the menus if quick setup is operating (or something of this nature). If yes choose another option. It might be that the bios is set for quick setup, shortcutting some screens. Also, make sure that boot sequence starts with cdrom and after it the hard drive.

hey skeptic,

how do i get into the bios, i know pushing del when you first turn on your computer, gets you into the bios settings, but unfortunately that screen is also missing, is there any way to change bios settings in windows?

wannabe1

Posted 20 February 2006 - 11:24 PM

wannabe1

Posted 20 February 2006 - 11:28 PM

wannabe1

Tech Staff

Technician

16,645 posts

Let's try to reset the CMOS.

You'll need to shutdown the machine, disconnect from the AC power source, and remove the battery. Let the machine sit for at least 30 minutes so the motherboard completely discharges. Put the battery back in, plug it in, and power it up. Try entering BIOS setup.